Friendly Competition
by The 50l3 5urv1v0r
Summary: Moving to a new city is never easy, but when Mattheau falls for a girl he just met, he goes on quite an adventure.
1. Chapter 1 (07-08 18:02:12)

**Chapter 1**

 _POV: Mattheau is a young, charming, and intelligent boy who just moved to Paris along with his upper middle class family._

"But Mom! I packed all the clothes before we left! Can you make Madeleine unpack them instead?" So started a series of many small arguments over mundane tasks that Mattheau would come to face as he began his new life in the beautiful city of Paris.

"She's asleep, Mattheau. Please be a good brother to her and unpack clothes for the two of you for tomorrow, it's your first day in the city." Mattheau's mother, Rose, loved both her children dearly and would give anything to see them grow up happy. However, it had been a long trip from Normandy and she was tired herself. Arguing with her son over clothes just was not worth the effort.

"Fine...it's not like we're doing anything tomorrow anyways." With a reluctant sigh, Mattheau began unpacking his sister's suitcase and laying out a clean outfit for tomorrow before doing the same for himself. He didn't really mind doing it, he was just tired from the trip, and wanted to rest.

After finishing the chore, he was relieved to finally be able to get some sleep. He climbed into his bed, turned down the lantern, and laid there, thinking about what many new adventures tomorrow might bring.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Usually, having someone to help guide you through new and unfamiliar territory is one of the best and wisest courses of action. Unfortunately for Mattheau, his parents had already left and taken Madeleine with them, leaving him to wake up all by himself.

"Well this is just great," he muttered casually. "I wonder what other disappointments are in store for me today." Aside from the occasional instances where his parents are needed and aren't able to be there in the early morning for Mattheau. "Can't blame them really," he thought to himself as he munched on a stale piece of bread. "It's not their faults they have to work." He dismissed the whole idea and stood up, brushing some crumbs off his jacket as he walked towards the door. "Well, time to go make a difference," he muttered sarcastically.

Upon opening the door and stepping outside, he was surprised by how similar the street was to where he used to live. "This place might not be _so_ bad," he reasoned, "Just needs a fresh coat of paint, that's all." His thought was punctuated by a loud bang from the end of the street, followed by a yell. Mattheau turned to see what the commotion was about, and saw that a pot full of tomatoes had fallen off a rack onto a vendor's head. Shrugging, he turned to begin walking up the street when he was suddenly hit by a red-orange flash and fell to the ground.

After a moment's delay he felt his forehead where he could tell a bruise would be forming. He winced in pain as he opened his eyes, only to be met with the blurry image of someone's face staring at him. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and when he opened his eyes again, he was immediately left breathless. A beautiful girl with ginger hair and freckles was leaning right above him, growing more concerned with each passing moment that Mattheau was seriously hurt.

While he wasn't hurt _too_ much, Mattheau definitely did not enjoy the sudden impact of another person's forehead slamming against his. Because he got the wind knocked out of him when he fell, his breath caught in his throat, which prompted quite the reaction from the mystery girl. "Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! Are you alright?" Mattheau still hadn't drawn a breath in yet, and his face started turning red. The girl's gorgeous green eyes widened in alarm as she put an ear close to Mattheau's mouth, listening for breath. When she heard none, she began to think that he really was hurt, and that he needed CPR.

Now this wasn't too out of the ordinary for Mattheau, who expected he'd catch his breath in a moment or two and everything would be fine. What he _didn't_ expect was the girl suddenly pumping his chest in some attempt to resuscitate him. He was about to sit up and let her know that he was fine, when she suddenly pinched his nose and pressed her lips against his, blowing air into his lungs. The contact only lasted for a moment before she broke away, but Mattheau would never forget it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Are you alright?" The pretty ginger-haired girl was visibly blushing, whether it was from the brief contact between her lips and Mattheau's, or due to her expelling air into his lungs; Mattheau would never know. "Y-yes I'm fine, thank you." Mattheau sat up, and could now clearly see this girl's face. She really was gorgeous, and her emerald green eyes made him blush a little in return. "Oh I was so scared!" The girl threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. "I guess head-on collisions are quite the matchmaker." Mattheau thought to himself as he felt his heart beat fast and hard in his chest. After the girl let go she brushed herself off and helped Mattheau to his feet.

"I'm Félicie." The girl said, while shaking Mattheau's hand. Her hand felt soft and warm, Mattheau thought, but her clothes seem a little tattered. "I-I'm Mattheau." He babbled out a response, struggling to maintain a straight face. "Again, I am so, so sorry about running into you like that, I wasn't looking where I was going," Félicie said.

"No, no it was my fault!" Mattheau quickly replied, "I should've looked both ways before leaving my house," he sheepishly added. "Oh stop it, you." Fèlicie giggled as she playfully slapped his hand. Thankful that some tension had been released, Mattheau chuckled and looked around. However, when he looked back to Fèlicie, that's when he saw his ticket to her heart.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Mattheau stared at a pair of pink lace ballet shoes hanging from the back of a small satchel Fèlicie was carrying. "I-I didn't know you danced." Mattheau said, genuinely surprised. "Mhmm!" Fèlicie nodded excitedly. I'm trying out for the role of Clara in the-" "Nutcracker," Mattheau finished, still a little surprised. "Yes!" Fèlicie replied. "I'm so excited, but also nervous too..." She looked around anxiously. "In fact, I was on my way to the theater for the auditions when I bumped into you."

As if that suddenly spiked her memory, Félicie gasped and looked up at the large clock at the end of the street. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!" She started jogging down the street, with Mattheau struggling to keep up beside her. "W-wait are you going now?" He asked, a little short of breath. "Yes! If I'm not there in time, they'll give the part to someone else!" Fèlicie worriedly responded. Mattheau realized that he definitely needed to take an interest in this play, on the off chance that there may be other roles potentially available to him that weren't filled yet.

"So this play..." Mattheau said casually, "Who else is in it?" he asked, as they rounded a corner onto another cobblestone street. "Oh you know..." Fèlicie replied distractedly, "Other ballet dancers and actors." Mattheau's ears perked up at that last bit of information Félicie mentioned. "Wait, actors? As in, male dancers and performers?" Félicie raised an eyebrow at the question. "Yes, that's what it means to be an actor." She slowly answered. "Why are you so interested anyways?" While he had briefly anticipated this question, Mattheau had been so caught up in learning more about the play he had forgotten how he would actually answer it. "Oh, um...b-because I'm an actor too!" As soon as he realized what he said, he mentally cursed in regret. "What have I gotten myself into now?" he groaned.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Fèlicie almost immediately stopped jogging and stood there, staring at Mattheau in surprise. "You're an actor?" she asked dumbfoundedly. "Y-yes, that's right!" Mattheau quickly responded. "In fact, I'm planning on auditioning for the role of Fritz in the Nutcracker too!" Félicie's eyes widened at this statement, almost as if she suddenly regarded Mattheau in a whole new way. Really?" Fèlicie asked excitedly. "Do you think you'll get the part?" Mattheau shrugged and folded his arms. "I don't see why not," he answered. "If I work hard enough, I'm sure I'll land the role."

Fèlicie started grinning happily as she grabbed Mattheau's hand and started running down the street towards the theater. "Well if you're going to get that part then you'd better hurry. The auditions close in five minutes!" Mattheau knew they would never make it to the theater at this rate; it was nearly five blocks away. However, he remembered that there was a market just outside of the theater, with many farmers selling their goods there. There was bound to be some cart of hay placed in just the right spot to break a large fall. At least, he hoped there would be.

"Come on," Mattheau pulled Fèlicie down a narrow side street that led to an alleyway of sorts. "I think I know a shortcut." he confidently added. He was looking for something that would enable Fèlicie and himself to reach higher ground, hopefully finding a good jumping-off point as well. "Where are we going?" Fèlicie asked worriedly. "I have no clue how this will help us get to the theater in time!" Just then Mattheau spotted a ladder that led to some nearby scaffolding–the perfect place for a swan dive into a hay pile.

"Over there!" Mattheau rushed up to the latter and started climbing it, with Fèlicie right on his heels. "What are you doing?!" She asked, visibly upset. "We're going to miss the auditions!" Mattheau ignored her complaints and crawled onto the roof of the building, helping Fèlicie climb up behind him. "Please, why are we here?" She asked, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Mattheau knew that they needed to act really fast or they would both miss the auditions. That would most definitely not be a good first impression on a girl he liked, he thought.

Regardless, he took Fèlicie's hand and began running along the rooftop of the building, taking care not to step on any loose tiles. He could make out the dome of the theater just above the horizon, and knew that they were close, maybe only a block away. He rushed forward and could see some carts down below in the market. He prayed that there was a hay-filled one waiting for he and Fèlicie, or else they'd be in serious trouble. He turned and picked Fèlicie up, carrying her in his arms as his legs worked overtime to run to the edge of the building and leap off, taking a leap of faith to the ground below.

Fèlicie screamed and covered her eyes as Mattheau closed his as well, waiting to hit the hard street below. Suddenly he and Fèlicie hit a cushiony pile of fibers as he held her against his chest, allowing his back to absorb the impact. After realizing that they were alive, Mattheau opened his eyes and saw that Fèlicie was just as shocked as he was. "Well good morning princess." He said with a charming grin on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

Both Fèlicie and Mattheau sat up and turned to see the theater less than a hundred feet away from them. A quick glance up at the clock on the end of the street showed that they still had a minute to get inside, save for getting dressed and all that. Mattheau hopped out of the cart and helped Fèlicie out like a true gentleman, then they both dashed inside the theater.

Meanwhile, Monsieur Merante was just about to close auditions when Fèlicie and Mattheau came rushing in. "Stop! Stop! We're here!" Fèlicie said, out of breath. "Yes! We, uh...had to take _leaps_ and bounds to make it here." Mattheau quickly added. Merante sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Very well. You have five minutes to prepare. Fèlicie, your audition for the role of Clara will be first, and..."

When he turned to Mattheau, Merante squinted his eyes. "You are...?" He asked. "Oh! I'm Mattheau, and I'm auditioning for the role of Fritz!" He eagerly answered. "I see," Merante slowly responded, "And are your parents here too?" Mattheau looked a little guilty at the question. "S-sorry, they're at work right now." Merante smiled and nodded. "It's alright, I understand." He turned to Fèlicie. "And how about you miss? Are your parents h-"

He stopped himself in mid-sentence and lowered his head apologetically. "Ahem, y-yes that's right, I'm sorry..." he murmured in a low voice. Mattheau turned to Fèlicie who was staring at the floor. Just then, Mattheau realized that Fèlicie was an orphan. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. Even for someone so energetic, her clothes were tattered and dirty, and she really _didn't_ have her parents with her.

Just then, Mattheau heard a small sound from the theater and looked out over all the empty seats. There, close to Merante were two people he had never noticed were there before. A short, blonde girl who looked about his age, and her tall, black-haired, sinister looking mother. The girl, Camille, was clearly snickering into her hand and getting great joy from Fèlicie's unfortunate situation. Mattheau's eyes narrowed and he could feel his ears getting hot. He hated bullies, and clearly this girl was one.

Fèlicie looked up and when she saw Camille laughing at her, she buried her face in her hands. Finally, after Camille finished laughing she just sat in her seat with a smug grin on her face. "Honestly, I have no idea how they let horrible...things like you into this theater," she sneered at Fèlicie. "Let you in, didn't they?" Mattheau remarked.


	7. Chapter 7

A collective gasp was heard throughout the room, and Camille and her mother both narrowed their eyes in fury. "How DARE you say that about me?!" Camille growled, her voice dripping with venom. "Do you know who I am?!" Mattheau shrugged. "Yeah, and you're making me wish I hadn't." He looked to Fèlicie to see if it had lifted her spirits and didn't see her onstage next to him. Instead, he found her in the wings, just out of view, on the floor laughing.

Mattheau smiled to himself. "Good," he thought, "I'm just glad she's happy now." The loud clack of Camille stamping her foot snapped Mattheau's focus back to the problem at hand. "I demand that this insolent child be removed from the theater immediately!" Camille's mother ordered. Merante was about to respond, but Mattheau had already hopped off the stage and was walking up the aisle to the back. "Don't worry, I was just leaving anyways." He said as the theater doors closed behind him.

Later that night, Mattheau sat on the curb in front of his house and waited for his parents to get home. "Stupid Camille..." he muttered to himself. "Why'd she feel the need to pick on Fèlicie like that? She's the nicest girl I've ever met." Looking up, he could see a full moon over the nearby rooftops, and decided to climb up to get a better look at the city. He went around the corner to an alley and climbed over dumpsters and on window ledges to finally make it up onto his roof.

The view was truly breathtaking. Paris at night had to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, without question. He leaned back against a chimney and rested there. After a while, he could feel himself getting tired and struggled to keep his eyes open. He was just about to doze off when he heard a small voice from behind him. "Hi." He turned around and saw Fèlicie sitting there on the roof with him.

Fèlicie looked beautiful in the moonlight, and Mattheau felt his cheeks getting warm. "H-hi." He replied. "I heard what you said about me earlier when you were sitting on the curb," she said. "I thought it was really nice of you to say that." Mattheau felt himself blushing. "Oh, it was nothing, really..." he said shyly. "It's just not fair that Camille was being so mean to you." Fèlicie nodded and sat closer to Mattheau. "I know," she said quietly. "I'm sorry if what happened about my...m-my parents changes anything between us..." She looked down.

"Hey..." Mattheau gently tilted her chin up and looked her in the eyes. "It doesn't matter where you come from, or what your life is like. You're still an amazing person to me because you have more passion for what you do than Camille or anyone else." Fèlicie blushed and leaned closer to Mattheau. He smiled and stared up at the moon, grateful for everything given to him at the moment. Suddenly he heard a light, soft melody and saw Fèlicie was playing with a small music box.

"Where'd you get that?" Mattheau asked. "It's the only thing I took from the orphanage," Fèlicie replied. "It's all I have left to remember my mother by..." She shook it, and it made a clicking sound, which prompted a sad gasp from her. "Uh...it sounds broken," Mattheau said. "Here, let me take a look at it." He opened the music box and saw that a screw that held the gears down was out of place. "This shouldn't be a problem to fix..." he muttered. He pulled out his jackknife and used the screwdriver head to start twistig the gears back in place. "You know...seeing as this _is_ your only possession from the orphanage, I'd like to think you'd take better care of..."

He looked down and saw Fèlicie had fallen asleep on his shoulder while he had been fixing her music box. Satisfied with his work, he closed the small device and set it down. Then he took off his jacket and covered Fèlicie with it. His parents and sister were probably already home and asleep by now and he had just missed them, that's all. Whatever the case, he didn't care. All that mattered to him at the moment was only Fèlicie. With those final thoughts, he closed his eyes and felt himself drifting off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Mattheau slowly opened his eyes to see the hustle and bustle of Paris. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, and suddenly he was wide awake. Eventually he remembered that he had fallen asleep on the roof last night, which was why he was so high up right now. He took a deep breath and shielded his face from the bright rays of the Sun. He sensed movement next to him and saw Fèlicie waking up, rubbing her eyes as well.

"Well good morning p-" His joke was halted by Fèlicie putting her finger to his lips to shush him. "Good morning to you too, wise guy." she teased. A little surprised, Mattheau slowly stood up and looked at the street below, which had people moving up and down it like ants in a farm. Fortunately, today was Saturday, so at least he and Fèlicie could do whatever they wanted and spend more time together. "So..." Mattheau turned back to Fèlicie, "What do you want to do today?"

Fèlicie thought about it for a moment, then smiled widely. "I know!" she exclaimed, "We can go visit my friend Victor! He's an aspiring inventor you know." Mattheau raised an eyebrow and pondered the situation, feeling like he had heard of the boy before. "What if he...? Nah, I doubt it." He thought to himself. "Come on," Fèlicie said, "It'll be fun. I'm sure you guys will get along just fine!" Mattheau shrugged and started climbing down from the roof. "Yup, we'll get along juuuust fine," he muttered.

Fifteen minutes later they were standing on the front steps of the workshop where Victor was an apprentice at. They went inside, and Mattheau felt a sense of familiarity as le looked around. "I could probably build these," he thought. "Little elbow grease and a combination wrench and I'm all set." They opened the door to Victor's workstation, and Mattheau realized something terrible: He had seen Victor before. No, he _knew_ Victor before.

Victor turned around and was surprised to see Fèlicie standing there. However, he was even more surprised to see someone else standing beside her. Someone...vaguely familiar. Regardless, he dismissed the idea and turned his attention back to Fèlicie. "W-what are you doing here?" he asked incredulously. "Well, I was just hanging out with Mattheau and we decided to come visit you!" Fèlicie eagerly replied. "We?" Mattheau sarcastically thought to himself.

"Hey, um...can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?" Victor said to Fèlicie, while casting a glance towards Mattheau. "S-sure..." Fèlicie said, and she followed him out into the hallway. Now Mattheau never liked to be kept in the dark about things, especially when it involves someone as special to him as Fèlicie was. Even though he didn't want to, he found himself pressing an ear against the closed hallway door. "Come on, I know you can do it," Fèlicie said. "You're a great inventor, Victor. Your "Pigeon Wings" will work for sure!" Mattheau frowned. What were "Pigeon Wings?" He turned around and saw a large glider with a pair of wings hanging on the wall. "Oh, so _that's_ what she meant by pigeon wings." He murmured.

Mattheau walked over to the contraption and examined it. The inner workings of the wings were in top notch condition and the mechanics were all properly set. "This kid really knows his stuff." Mattheau thought. He looked down and saw that Victor's notebook was open to the page with all the schematics for the glider in front of him. "I think I'll just take a few notes here," he thought to himself as he scribbled down the basic plans on a spare piece of paper. "I'm sure I can improve on these 'wings' a lot more than Victor could." He finished writing the plans down, folded up the piece of paper, and tucked it in his coat pocket.

Just then, the workshop doors opened up and Fèlicie and Victor walked back inside. "I see you've found my 'Pigeon Wings,'" Victor said. "They used to be called 'Chicken Wings' back when Fèlicie and I escaped from the orphanage." At this, Fèlicie nodded and laughed. "I remember that silly cap you wore too, Chicken-Boy." she teased. "Well I think it's about time for us to go," Mattheau interrupted. "You're a busy man and we wouldn't want to distract you from your work." He and Fèlicie walked towards the door, and she waved back at Victor before leaving.

While walking back to his house, Mattheau looked at Fèlicie with a raised eyebrow. "So uh...what did you guys talk about?" He asked casually. "Well, we made a bet," Fèlicie replied. "We bet on who could achieve their dreams first: Me as a dancer or Victor as an inventor." Mattheau frowned. "What's there to debate?" He scoffed. "Inventing is a long process full of trial and error. You'll have already achieved your dream long before he achieves his." As they were talking, they rounded the corner onto Mattheau's street. "Besides, I already told you that you've got tons of passion for dancing. I know you'll be able to achieve your dream in a heartbeat." With that said, they walked up to Mattheau's front door, and Mattheau opened it. "Would you like to come in?" He asked politely. "Why yes, I'd love to." Fèlicie responded


	9. Chapter 9

A day later, Fèlicie and Mattheau were sitting at their new favorite spot to hang out: Mattheau's roof. They had been just talking for a while, but things had been moved up a notch since then. "Okay, okay," Fèlicie giggled. "Truth or dare?" Mattheau thought about it for a moment. "Truth," he answered slowly. Fèlicie smiled and lowered her voice. "Have you ever kissed a girl?" Mattheau immediately felt his cheeks turn bright red and his heart started beating fast. "Uh...I-I.." he stuttered. "Hmm?" Fèlicie asked, pretending to be innocent. Mattheau started panicking, and when he panicked he couldn't think straight. "N-not yet?" he tried.

Fèlicie just rolled her eyes and leaned in closer. "Are you suuuure?" she teased. Mattheau started getting worried that she knew something he didn't, and he tried to flip the conversation around. "Y-yeah I'm sure! Are you?" he asked. "Oh please," Fèlicie said, as she playfully tapped Mattheau's nose. "You're playing hard to get, aren't you?" Mattheau frowned in confusion. "Hard to get?" He echoed, "If you remember correctly, princess, you had me at 'hello,' right?"

Fèlicie shook her head and tousled Mattheau's hair. "You've got to be the most absentminded gentleman I've ever met," she said. "Well you've got to be the most rough-and-tumble ballerina I've ever met." Mattheau replied. Suddenly Fèlicie jumped up and got an excited look on her face. "That reminds me, I have practice later today for the Nutcracker and I want you to be there!" Mattheau was a little surprised, but agreed nonetheless. "Yeah of course! I can't wait!" He responded, "I know you'll nail it."

At that moment, Fèlicie lowered her eyes and the smile left her face. "Well I'm glad you think so, because I _have_ to nail it." Mattheau was confused, especially since he knew nothing about ballet anyways. "What do you mean? Like you _have_ to as in the sense that it's a personal goal? Or you have no choice?" Fèlicie sighed and held up two fingers, indicating the second option. "B-but how? You got the part, didn't you?" Suddenly Mattheau remembered that he had quit the auditions and left the theater before Fèlicie had done her audition. "You _did_ get the part, right?" He slowly asked.

Fèlicie closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "Then...why are you going to practice?" Mattheau asked, truly shocked at the whole situation. "Because..." Fèlicie began, "I made a bet. The man running the production, Merante, you remember him?" Mattheau nodded attentively. "Well he and I...didn't agree on the outcome of the auditions. He said that I _might_ have a chance of getting the part, but only if I practice nonstop." Mattheau couldn't believe what he was hearing. All the drama involving ballet was slowly killing Fèlicie's spirit.

"But I didn't see any other officials at the auditions...who are you practicing with?" Mattheau asked. Fèlicie looked up and smiled a little. "I met a very kind woman named Odette," she began. "She...used to be a ballet dancer. Until there was an accident." Mattheau was unable to make virtually any sense out of that statement, so he tried a different question. "Um...what was the accident?" Fèlicie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "There was a fire onstage," she said. "Odette hurt her leg badly...she's been using a cane ever since."

Mattheau took a moment to let all this sink in, then remembered what they had originally been talking about. "But what does all this have to do with you?" he asked. Fèlicie sniffed a little and crossed her arms. "Merante said that Odette would have to work with me privately, since I haven't been to formal ballet school. And..." Fèlicie hesitated, unsure if she should continue. "It's alright, you can tell me." Mattheau said, gently placing a hand on Fèlicie's shoulder. She took a deep breath before continuing. "If I mess something up and don't get the part...I-I'm out."

Mattheau tilted his head in concern. "Out? What do you mean by out?" he asked nervously. Fèlicie shrugged and stared at the ground. "It means I'm done," she muttered. "I'll have nothing left to do. Except for going back to the orphanage." Mattheau felt like the ground was slipping out from under his feet. He refused to believe that he could lose this girl he cared so much about, especially when she was so close to achieving her dream. "Please Fèlicie, there has to be something we can do! You can't just give up and go back to the orphanage if you don't get the part!" Mattheau begged. "Then what _can_ I do?" Fèlicie responded.

"I...I don't know." Mattheau answered in a low voice. "But I know we'll figure something out. Together." Fèlicie wiped her eyes. "But how? How do you know we can do it?" Mattheau looked at her and felt some sense of dependency, meaning if all else failed, at least Fèlicie can continue her dream. "Because you..." Mattheau slowly began. "You just keep finding something to fight for. Your optimism is what motivates me to get up everyday to see you. If it weren't for you, I don't know where I'd be right now."

Fèlicie smiled and hugged Mattheau tightly. "Now come on," Mattheau said. "We've got a dance practice to get you to." He offered Fèlicie his hand, and she stood up and took it in hers. Unbeknownst to them, as they walked to the theater a tall, shadowy figure was watching from around a corner. "It appears that the street rat mustn't fail this practice, or else she is out...and my little Camille will get the spot." The figure smiled sinisterly as she started following the two children.


	10. Chapter 10

Later that day, Mattheau was watching Fèlicie's ballet practice from a balcony in the theater. He had been watching for a few minutes, and was very impressed at how good Fèlicie was. Suddenly he heard a light clicking noise that kept repeating in a pattern. He turned and saw a woman walking up to him on the balcony...with a cane. The woman wasn't elderly, or even severely disabled. In fact, she looked relatively young, Mattheau thought. The woman joined Mattheau on the balcony and watched Fèlicie's practice with him.

"Um...can I help you?" Mattheau asked her. The woman simply sat down next to Mattheau and rested for a moment before answering. "I am Odette," she responded. "I've been practicing ballet with Fèlicie for the last week, and I thought I'd come to see how her practice went." Mattheau understood what this woman was doing here now and felt a little ashamed at how he was rude. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it so harshly-" he began, but Odette held up her hand to quiet him. "It's alright, it doesn't matter," she replied. "But might I ask, what are _you_ doing here?" Mattheau shrugged and gestured towards the stage down below. "Same as you, watching Fèlicie's practice," he answered.

Odette nodded and turned her attention back to Fèlicie, proud at how well she was doing so far. Suddenly the theater doors slammed open and Camille stormed in, followed by a tall, sinister woman who Mattheau recognized as her mother. Camille rushed right up to Merante, who had been observing and critiquing Fèlicie's practice, and pointed a finger in his chest. "How dare you not give me the part at the audition?!" She demanded. "I'm far better than this street rat will ever be!" She cast an angry glare at Fèlicie, who had stopped dancing and was watching Camille's outburst.

"Really? Care to prove it?" Fèlicie asked. "What are you suggesting?!" Camille sneered in response. "Dance battle. Right here, right now." Fèlicie challenged. "Unless you're too chicken..." Mattheau was on the edge of his feet, he was so excited to see what would happen next. Camille folded her arms and tried to hide her embarrassment. "Of-of course not!" She replied. "I'm willing to take you on anywhere, anytime!" Mattheau was just settling in for what he knew would be a good show when the two ballerinas began their heated dance competition. The only regret Mattheau had...was that he didn't bring popcorn.

The dance battle was fierce, fast, and lasted nearly ten minutes. So far, it looked like Fèlicie was winning, since she had been able to perform moves that Camille hadn't. Mattheau was almost certain Fèlicie would win when suddenly she tried to perform a leap and landed on her leg. Now Mattheau didn't know much about dance competitions, much less about ballet in general, but he had a feeling that Fèlicie's error wasn't going to end well.

Apparently, Fèlicie's mistake was somehow enough that she lost the competition, and she looked devastated as she sadly walked off the stage. Mattheau sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knew that now Fèlicie would never hear the end of Camille bragging about how much better she was at dancing. It just wasn't fair to Fèlicie. Mattheau looked over and saw Odette had covered her mouth in shock and looked just as upset as Fèlicie. An accurate reaction, Mattheau thought.

Suddenly the sound of screaming rang throughout the theater and Mattheau's hair stood on end. As earsplitting as that scream was, he could tell it was Fèlicie's. He looked over the balcony railing and saw Camille's mother dragging Fèlicie up the aisle by the arm towards the doors. Mattheau felt anger and hate swell up inside him, and before Odette could stop him he bolted across the balcony and down he stairs, throwing the theater doors open and frantically looking at for Fèlicie. The sound of screaming once again alerted Mattheau to Fèlicie's presence, and he saw that she was locked in the back of a carriage. He heard a whip crack and saw horses start to pull the carriage away.

Mattheau started running after the carriage, eventually breaking into a sprint as it grew farther and farther away from him. He realized he couldn't keep up with it forever, and as a last ditch effort, he picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could at the carriage. Despite the fact that what he did was illegal, Mattheau's distraction DID get the carriage to stop long enough so that he could read its identification number: 1F0R-35T1

As soon as he had the number memorized, Mattheau sprinted away, determined to rescue Fèlicie once the carriage driver had stopped looking for him. He ran down alleys, through side streets, and across plazas until he was finally safe in a tall tree with thick branches that would hide him. "I'll wait here until dusk," he thought to himself. "Then...I find Fèlicie."


	11. Chapter 11

By the time Mattheau woke up, he had already fallen out of the tree he was sitting in. He lifted his head off the ground and rubbed his aching chest. "Must've gotten the wind knocked out of me when I fell," he thought to himself. Suddenly his eyes widened and he leapt to his feet, now fully aware of what was going on. "I've got to go save Fèlicie!"

Mattheau immediately started running back into the mass of buildings and streets and looked around frantically for something that would quickly get him somewhere far away. Suddenly an idea struck him and he flashed back to when he had copied the page with the schematics for a glider from of Victor's notebook. In hindsight, Mattheau wondered if he should've copied the page down after all. It was a dishonest thing to do, but he only did it because he knew he could improve the design. And fortunately, that's exactly what he did. Quickly making a stop at home, he grabbed a square-shaped mechanical device that seemed to have shoulder straps and a cord that was meant to be pulled. "Hang in there, Fèlicie...I'm on my way."he muttered to himself.

An hour later, Mattheau was sprinting through the dark, cold countryside of France. He shivered due to both the cold and fear of what was lurking out in the dark. In fact, it would be nearly pitch black outside had it not been for the bright light of the moon, shining down upon him.


	12. Chapter 12

When Mattheau finally reached the gates of the orphanage he wouldn't have even been able to see his hand in front of his face, had it not been for the light of the moon. He could see that there was at least one or two hundred feet between the gates and the front doors, and not a lot of cover in between. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pulled the gate open, wincing when it made a long, slow creak. Panicking, he dashed through the gates and dropped to the ground, his head peeking out over a shrub bush.

After what felt like forever, he began crawling army style up the lawn, making his way to the closest window on the east side of the orphanage. He lifted himself off the ground and crouched down under the windowsill, which was just brushing the tip of his head. He slowly stood up and peered at the window, finding that it was slightly open, but the curtains were drawn.

"Great," Matthew thought with a frustrated grunt. "I know how to get in, but I don't know _where_ to find Fèlicie." Suddenly the sound of loud footsteps jarred him from his thoughts, and he ducked under the window again, trying to stay as quiet as possible. He spied a loose shard of glass by his foot and picked it up, not wanting to step on it. He heard a swishing noise and deep, ragged breathing. Someone was looking out the window directly above him, and if Mattheau made a sound, he'd be caught for sure.

Thinking quickly, he angled the shard of glass in the moonlight so that he could see who was standing a foot away from him. What he saw disgusted him, but at least he knew who he was dealing with now. A fat, hairy, troll of a man was looking out of the window, apparently scanning the landscape around him for any troublesome meddlers. Thankfully, the man only stayed for another minute before drawing the curtains again and walking away. Mattheau breathed a sigh of relief and ran a hand through his hair, enjoying the cool night sky against his face. Finally, after determining that it was safe to come out from his hiding place, he tucked the glass shard in his belt loop and carefully squeezed through the window into the orphanage. "I'm in," he thought to himself.

He took a moment to survey his surroundings, noting that there was an unlit candle and some matches on a table next to him. He took the items and was shocked to find how dirty the table itself was. Nevertheless, he wiped the dust and grime off his hands and pressed on, quietly sneaking down a long corridor to the front of the orphanage. He was nearly at a large pair of double doors when he heard faint footsteps heading his way. Fearing the worst, Mattheau ducked around the corner and stayed as quiet as a mouse. When he heard the footsteps stop, he assumed that whoever they belonged to had stopped outside of the large double doors. When he heard the handle turn and the hinges creak, he knew he was correct.

Mattheau remembered that he was wearing a square metal contraption on his back, and was surprised to see that it had remained in perfect condition during his infiltration of the orphanage. He couldn't hear anything now, and that frightened him. The last thing he wanted was for some angry nun to appear out of nowhere and blow his cover. Steeling himself, he peeked around the corner again, and saw that the large double doors had been opened, but he couldn't see who had done it. He was just about to take a few steps out into the corridor when he heard a light shuffling sound. He froze in place, but didn't see anyone in the corridor. "Must've just been the wind," he muttered. Suddenly he felt a presence, like someone had snuck up behind him. He quickly turned his head and found himself staring at a familiar freckled face. "Psst. Whatcha looking at?"


End file.
